Surplus Computers: Are They a Godsend — or Trash?
Did you know there are programs — both local and national — that offer schools free surplus computer equipment? Today, Education World writer Glori Chaika asks teachers who have participated in some of those programs to discuss the advantages — and disadvantages — of using surplus computer equipment in their schools. Librarian/technology teacher Melanie Natal-Lewis was so anxious to expand her computer library lab that she scoured Goodwill centers for old computers and printers. She hauled them back to Bonne Ecole Elementary School, in Slidell, Louisiana, in her sub-compact car, hooked up what she could, and cannibalized nonfunctioning equipment for parts. “I created just about my entire library lab — one checkout station, one librarian workstation, and seven search stations from donations or equipment I found,” Natal-Lewis told Education World. “To accommodate the Accelerated Reader software, I connected the PCs to a Macintosh server, but the only computer purchased new was this
